Thread Number: 13258
A little Frigidaire Confusion...
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Post# 229756   8/12/2007 at 01:23 (6,074 days old) by volvoguy87 (Cincinnati, OH)        

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I have never personally seen a GM Frigidaire of any model, (I know, I'm deprived) but I have read about them here. The placement and development of the Pulsametics has always confused me. I think the Unimatics came out first in '47 and were used in residential machines through '58, and until sometime in the 60s for coin-ops. I'm pretty sure the Pulsamatics were lower-end machines, but I don't know when they came out, am I correct in assuming mid 50s? I'm pretty sure they stopped selling Pulsamatics in the US when they came out with the Multimatic, in 59 I think. But, didn't they continue to market Pulsamatics in other markets, like Austrailia? I don't know what the Unimatic, Pulsamatic, and Multimatic designs had in common, or not, but I'm pretty sure the Multimatic replaced both the Unimatic and Pulsamatic in the US. Please correct me where I am wrong, and bestow upon me correct information.
I have kept my eyes and ears open here for some time, and I have learned enough to appreciate the Frigidaires, especially the WCI-58s in the club. They are probably my favorite model and I do like to occationally watch the movies of Robert's. Were it not for those movies, I would likely have never found this site and hobby.

Hoping to someday have up,down, and 1140,
Dave





Post# 229792 , Reply# 1   8/12/2007 at 08:50 (6,074 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

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Does this help?

The Unimatic transmission was designed and built by a Frigidaire engineer named Kenneth O'Sissen back in the late 1930's. Kenneth, who was hired by Frigidaire after working at Bendix where he invented the incrementing timer for their bolt-down washer and Kenneth’s basic timer design is still used today in some washers and dishwashers. His Unimatic, (Uni. meaning one and Matic short for automatic) consisted of a pulsator crankshaft & spin cage/brake assembly type transmission located on the top, a motor mounted in the middle and a water pump mounted underneath the motor. It was one complete direct drive unit without any clutches, drive belts or pulleys. The motor ran at 1140rpm, the gearing ratio in the pulsator part of the mechanism made the agitator go up and down in a 1 7/8” stroke at 330 pulses per minute. Since there was no gearing in the spin section of the mechanism, the tub spun at the same rate as the motor -- 1140rpm, which made for incredibly dry clothes. Because of the war effort it wasn’t until 1947 that Frigidaire introduced this mechanism in its very first washer, model WJ-60. Unimatic washers for domestic use were continued to be produced through 1958.

In 1955 Frigidaire engineers experimented with a belt-drive mechanism and introduced the Pulsa-Matic mechanism on its lower end washer model WV-35. The Pulsa-Matic agitated up and down at a very rapid 630ppm and also spun the tub at 630rpm, which was the slowest spinning full-size washer GM Frigidaire ever produced. Because of the rapid agitation with the Pulsa-Matic, Frigidaire shortened the length of the stroke of the agitation from 1 7/8" to 3/4" . This change in agitation stroke and pulse rate did reduce the rate of turnover of the clothes which made for less tangling, but did not clean anywhere near as well as the Unimatic’s agitation. For this reason the Pulsa-Matic only lasted 4 years as they continued to market it in '56, '57 and '58. These models (WV-35, WS-56, WD-56, WS-57, WD-57, WS-58, WD-58 and WDP-58) are now some of the rarest of the Frigidaire washers and I only know of one collector that has one of these Pulsa-Matic washers.

The only major design of the Unimatic washers outside of the normal yearly changes in the cabinet and control panels was the introduction of the 3-Ring Agitator in 1956, with a neoprene rubber, gray colored cap, lint-chaser ring and circulator ring. The same colors were used in ’57 and a bleach cup was added. In ’58 Frigidaire’s advertising firm suggested that they color the rings (sort of like they did in the ’57 magazine ad’s), so the cap became turquoise, the lint chaser ring became yellow and the circulator became a coral color.

In 1959 Frigidaire introduced their first coin-operated washer (model WCOZ). The WCOZ used the Unimatic tranny and coin-op Unimatics were produced until 1964. Starting in 1965 Frigidaire introduced other coin-op machines with various mechanisms and continued to make them until the mid 70’s. About 1962 Frigidaire introduce their top-loading Dry-Cleaner, it too used the Unimatic mechanism and I'm not sure how long it was produced for (anyone out there know????).

For the new 1959 domestic washer line Frigidaire discontinued the Unimatic (for home use) and completely discontinued the Pulsa-Matic. They now introduced the Multi-Matic which was nothing more than a very advanced version of the Pulsa-Matic. It consisted of two drive belts (one for agitate and one for spin), a new two speed motor and a special clutch to shift drive power between the two belts. This arrangement produced Frigidaire's first multi-speed washer, allowing for 330ppm for normal wash speed or a 220ppm delicate speed as well as a 850rpm high spin speed and a 330rpm delicate spin speed. Because of the slower 330ppm Frigidaire was now able to return the agitator stroke back to a full 1.25" just like the old Unimatic. For the 1963 line Frigidaire introduced it's new 12lb capacity tub, but unfortunately for both the 1963 and 1964 line Frigidaire cheapened the clutch design of the Multi-Matic which dropped the high spin speed from 850 all the way down to 710.

In 1965 (actually it was the end of the year 1964) Frigidaire introduced the Roller-Matic mechanism. This was now a belt-less mechanism again with rollers of different sizes to drive the transmission. They also brought back the high speed spin of 1010rpm (not quite as fast as the 1140 of the Unimatic, but still very impressive). The Imperial and Custom Imperial washers had this 1010 “Rapidry spin” as well as a 650 mid level spin and a 330 low speed spin. Agitation speeds remained at 330 normal or 220 delicate speeds. In '65 they also introduced the " Deep Action Agitator" which was also referred to as " Jet-Action" . They had been experimenting with this 3-cone agitator since 1962 when they stated placing it in their coin-op machines, but for some reason waited until '65 to introduce it into the domestic line.

The 1970 line brought some very big changes. They introduced the new 1-18 washer with big 18lb perforated tub and the Jet-Cone agitator. The normal agitation speed was brought up from 330ppm to 360ppm and the spin speed was lowered from 1010 to about 660. They day's of the high speed spin were now over, even though its 660 was still the fastest spin available through the 1970's.

Of course in 1980 GM sold off Frigidaire it will never be the same :( . For a few years they kept the same general look of the cabinet and control panel of the 1-18 but inside was a 1970's design Westinghouse Top-Loading washer, one of the worst top-loader washer designs ever. It was a very dark-day in applianceville. The first time I saw this new Frigidaire after catching my breath, I nearly cried. I don’t need to describe to anyone out there in applianceville what WCI is producing now as a top-loader.


Post# 229793 , Reply# 2   8/12/2007 at 08:52 (6,074 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

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Btw, that information above was written by me about 6 years ago so the info on only one collector having a Pulsamatic now has changed, I believe there have been about 5 Pulsamatics found now.

Post# 229797 , Reply# 3   8/12/2007 at 09:07 (6,074 days old) by mayken4now (Panama City, Florida)        
1-16

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Was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the Frigidaire 1-16, how long in production, from when to when? I am totally aware of the 1-18 deal in 1970, but 1-16 never really comes about in conversation. Would love to have one. I do recall seeing some in a home appliance store back then.

Any information?

Steve


Post# 229804 , Reply# 4   8/12/2007 at 09:14 (6,074 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
Thank you Robert,

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I love your bits of history. Kinda incredible that one man invented so many important devices!

Post# 229868 , Reply# 5   8/12/2007 at 12:21 (6,073 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)        
Steve

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My first machine was a Frigidaire 16. They didn't have a 1 in front because the water level was not variable and only filled about 3/4 full. It was the same machine as far as 1-18 tub size and looks wise but just didn't fill up with water quite as far. It typically had 2 cycles, either a wash and a soak, or if it was a 2 speed it had a wash and a gentle cycle. These were controlled by the dial, not a separate speed knob. Here is a picture of the 16 I owned in the mid 80's along with it slightly higher end dryer.

Patrick


Post# 229870 , Reply# 6   8/12/2007 at 12:23 (6,073 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)        
Robert

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Great story. It's wonderful to have you as our own personal Frigidaire historian. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge.

Patrick


Post# 229944 , Reply# 7   8/12/2007 at 17:12 (6,073 days old) by volvoguy87 (Cincinnati, OH)        
Thanks for clearing that up.

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Robert, thanks for sharing your information, it cleared up my questions. Now if I could only get my hands on a WCI-58, sadly they don't seem to grow on trees (I wonder what that tree would look like!).
What is the difference between the similar-looking WCI-58 and WI-58?

Thanks a bunch,
Dave


Post# 230007 , Reply# 8   8/12/2007 at 20:15 (6,073 days old) by gyrafoam (Wytheville, VA)        

At the very bitter end I recall seeing some 1-16 BOL's with the original "Deep Action Agitator" of the '60's in an appliance store----brand new! I 'll bet those made for some splashy action.

This was the same store I bought my new TOL pair in "Poppy" from in 1979.I remember thinking it was just a case of GM scraping up all their left-overs to crank out the last of the line. Sad.


Post# 230048 , Reply# 9   8/12/2007 at 21:52 (6,073 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
Gotta Ask, O Great Unimatic...

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Robert:

I'm more a Maytag person than Frigidaire, so I don't really know a whole lot about Frigis. I've often wondered- what about that fabled Three-Ring Agitator? Did it hold up well enough to be okay to use today? Are those parts still obtainable? Or are they the bane of a Frigidaire collector's existence- rare to find in good enough shape to use in a restoration?

Enquiring minds want to know! ;-)


Post# 230146 , Reply# 10   8/13/2007 at 08:28 (6,073 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

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Sandy, the two rubber rings on the later three ring agitators had a tendency to crack and become loose after many years. For some odd reason the earlier black rubber neoprene rings held up better than the later colored (pink and yellow) rings. The pulsators usually are OK, but new ones look so much better. I have found most of these parts NOS over the years, but they are extremely rare now.

Post# 230198 , Reply# 11   8/13/2007 at 11:57 (6,072 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
Robert:

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This why I admire people like you and Greg. I myself have a Maytag centre-dial pair, but they were chosen specifically because parts were still pretty easy to find- these are daily drivers. I am not sure I would have what it takes to keep combing the earth for NLA's for a really rare machine. Even a Maytag 906 pair (owning a pair of these is one of my goals) gives me a little pause on the parts front.

Way to go, is all I can say.



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